by 3points »
09 Dec 2019 13:42
paultheroyal Also - that was poor goalkeeping from Raphael. He literally had to just jump to save as he was way over that side, infact you could argue he was to much over. He is not a goalkeeper who seems to be able to dive and fly through the air for those high shots.
he always seems quite short for a keeper (when sat in the stands). Not checked, but assuming he just about comes in around 6'. When the teams walk out he seems shorter than Moore, who's no giant either.
I was saying to RG7 Fan at the game that it feels odd having got rid of Jaakkola for Cabral. Cabral's kicking isn't great, and Jaakkola's would have been fine in this system under Bowen (safety first). I liked Jaakkola as a keeper, thought he was a good shot stopper (weaker on crosses) and thought he was underrated (and he'll be Finland's 3rd choice at next year's Euros). Cabral is starting to feel a bit like Mannone - nothing particularly wrong, but not that good either. You just don't feel like he's making game changing saves on a regular basis like Al Habsi, McCarthy, Feds and the like have historically done.
He's better than Walker and Virginia though.
Back to the game, I think a key moment was when Cowley went off injured to be replaced by Maghoma. For me it totally changed Birmingham's attacking dynamic. Maghoma was always running at defenders, popping up in odd places and then, in the second half, drifting in from the left where McCleary, Meite and Rinomhota consistently left a gaping hole which Yiadom and Morrison had to try to cover. That midfield shape did Morrison no favours as he was always being pulled out of position as the midfield (or what was left of it) weren't tracking runners